To Have A Method To Call My Own

White Haze On My Local Fruit Means Local Yeast For The Levain

I love to read about other people's quests, particularly if they happen in the kitchen.  William Alexander's 52 Loaves chronicles a search to bake his perfect loaf.

I started reading this book on vacation, and I couldn't wait to bake again when we returned.  Last evening when I began my preparations for the levain, Mr. Savory asked me if I planned on a 52 loaf pursuit of my ideal bread.

While I do have a perfect loaf in my mind (Elizabeth's rosemary thyme), the lack of a clay oven will make it unlikely for me to ever come close to replicating her bread.  What I would like to find nags at the back of my mind:  a method to fully embrace and make my own.

I have tended to flit and fly in the past year or two between individual recipes from here and there, wanting to eat more whole grains, and longing to settle with a method. So, I don't plan on baking a loaf a week for a year in search of "my loaf", but I would love to say after a time that a particular method suits my taste and temperment. 

My Apple Water Just Made (Local Apple and Local Peach Skin)

I have not done well with starters in the past, not so much because they haven't worked, but more so because I tire of caring for them.  They have a way of annoying me to a point where I can't wait to throw them out!

Alexander's passion for using a levain has inspired me to try his bread and to set out on my own journey. The photo above shows the "apple water" on the first day.  This will be strained after three days and used to make the levain.